Texas parents concerned about fracking near schools

Drilling near Argyle High School leads to increased health complaints from kids and staff.

Parents in Argyle, Texas, are growing increasingly concerned about a new fracking project that has begun near their children's schools — a project they say is responsible for the recent outbreak of health ailments affecting area children.

The project that has raised the parents' ire involves two drilling sites, according to the Denton Record Chronicle. The first, which is known as the Whitehead pad, is about a half mile away from Argyle High School. The other drilling site, known as the Jenkins pad, is about 1,500 feet from Argyle Intermediate School and about half a mile from Hilltop Elementary School. Drilling at both sites was approved by the Argyle Town Council in March, but drilling didn't begin until recently.

According to parents, that's around the time that kids in the area began complaining of nosebleeds, dizziness, disorientation and nausea. Some residents in the area reported smelling strange smells such as rotten eggs — a smell associated with sulfides, gas odors, pesticides and fingernail polish remover.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) responded to complaints in the area on three different days in October, taking air canister samples to determine air quality. The results are pending.

Parents, residents and local environmental groups spoke at the Argyle school board meeting last week, urging the board to take action that would protect area kids. They are asking that school nurses keep a detailed log of any student health issues and that staff and administrators report any odors they smell to TCEQ. They are also asking the school board to pass a resolution that would deem fumes entering school property to be a nuisance and trespass — all actions that they say will help protect their kids from the potential health risks associated with fracking.